Elite Shysters

It’s not every day that you see a politician make a policy decision that snubs thousands of community leaders in favour of a program that honours a handful of celebrities and elites.

But it seems that’s exactly what the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Mélanie Joly has done.

Since 1967, the Government of Canada has marked special occasions and anniversaries, like the Queen’s Jubilee, with the issuance of a Commemorative Medal.

First introduced by the government of Lester B. Pearson to mark the 100th anniversary of Confederation, commemorative medals were seen as a way to pay tribute to Canadians that had made significant contributions to their communities and to Canada.

And for the last 50 years, successive governments – both Liberal and Conservative – have utilized the occasion as way of thanking community leaders throughout the country.

But sadly, Minister Joly has decided that there will be no medal struck to celebrate our 150th year as a nation.